Life has been very eventful recently in a lot of different facets. It's caused me to reflect & make sure it's all written down somewhere. Before serving my mission, I was fortunate to have little to no health challenges. I'm still so blessed but that shifted a bit during and after my mission.
I've seen countless miracles throughout the last three years with my health and I want to have those miracles down & recorded!
São Paulo, Brazil
I had the BEST mission president in the world & I love him and his wife more than they'll ever know. I know all missionaries say that and I mean it! Brett & Amy Horsley set the perfect example of what I wanted my marriage to look like, how to love & serve selflessly, and how to be constantly present. My mission began on May 8, 2019 in the Provo MTC. My mission call was to serve for 18 months. A mission president and his wife are called to serve for 3 years. President and Sister Horsley began their mission the end of June and we crossed paths in the MTC before getting to Brazil within a few days of each other.
Multiple people from USU & Logan told me how lucky I was to be getting him as my mission president. President is also one of if not the best OBGYN in Logan. About 6 months into my mission (November 2019), I began to have a lot of pain in my side. I had to walk slow and it wasn't comfortable to even sit still. I remember walking to the bus stop after working in the Visitors' Center and my companion, Sister Simplício told me we should go to the doctor. I told her if it continued tomorrow we could make an appointment. When we walked into the doors of our apartment I couldn't believe the pain I was in. I sat in my study chair and didn't move until missionaries came to bring me to the emergency room. I thought my appendix had ruptured. After five days in the hospital there was no evidence that anything was wrong. Later we guessed that it was a cyst that had ruptured.
I went back to missionary work but every day, I experienced a few moments of pain in that side. Not as severe, but still uncomfortable.
The pain went on for a few months. Early March of 2020 came around and the pain steadily increased. I remember praying one night before bed and asked Heavenly Father that if this were something serious, I needed to know. I got my answer the next day as my companion and I were walking to our first appointment. We arrived at a cute old lady's house with a Book of Mormon in hand, eager to meet our new friend. It's custom in Brazil to clap outside the gated house and yell the resident's name instead of the traditional knocking on the door. After we clapped I told my companion we needed to call the medic missionary and I needed to go to the hospital. I got my answer to my prayer. I felt so sad watching the old woman walk to her gate to let us in. We explained that we couldn't meet with her that day and left after we gave her our Book of Mormon.
Surgery in Brazil
A few hours later, I was admitted into the Sírio-Libanês hospital in the center of São Paulo. I met my doctor, Mariana, who would later perform my first laparoscopic surgery. I wasn't nervous going into surgery. President Horsley explained the surgery to myself and my parents calming some of the nerves I knew they were feeling miles away. He gave me a priesthood blessing & I'll never forget the promises made in that blessing.
The surgery went well and I was so ready to put everything behind me and get back to missionary work. Ten days after my surgery the pain came back. I was discouraged and wasn't sure what to do. I had prepared my whole life to serve a mission and these obstacles kept coming up. After prayer and talking with President H. and my parents, the decision was made for me to come home.
Coming Home
I packed my bags and told the missionaries I was living with that I was leaving in a couple of days. It was hard to adjust to the fact that my mission was ending after 10 months instead of 18. I remember rolling up dresses and packing my suitcase when our phone rang and everything went crazy.
COVID-19
The Corona Virus had slowly spread across the world and missionary work had been altered over the last few weeks. We had been given extra money to buy food storage and gallons of water. We weren't allowed to eat in the home of members. Eventually, we weren't even allowed to go to church or visit the people we were teaching.
Missionary work became remote and we made video calls to keep contact with our friends. We also called members to sing hymns to them. The Visitors' Center closed to the public and we would travel on foot (to avoid riding the bus) to use the computers and teach remotely there as well. Everything was uncertain in the world but I had no doubt that God's work would continue.
After that phone call, a lot was about to change to the São Paulo West Mission.
We got word that the Church was sending all of the U.S. missionaries back home before COVID worsened and the borders closed. I wasn't returning home alone anymore. All of the U.S. missionaries were coming home with me.
The Church was coordinating the return of thousands of missionaries' flights and it was a little chaotic. I already had my flight plans that had been booked a few days earlier. All of the missionaries returning home first went to the mission home office to retrieve their passports and visas.
Salt Lake City, (church headquarters) would send the name of an American missionary to the office assistant missionaries who would then send out a taxi to bring that missionary into the mission home. This went on for hours and one by one, we arrived at the mission home. I remember saying goodbye to the two native missionaries we were living with. We didn't know what was going to happen to them. Would they return home? Would they stay? What was going to happen to the mission?
Once we arrived to the mission home, we were led through the gate and behind a big fence barrier. The government made an order that large group gatherings could not be held due to the Virus. We quietly weighed our suitcases, filed through the mission home to retrieve our passports & visas, and waited for our bus to take us to the airport.
President Horsley arrived at the mission home right before we left. We stood around him with tears in our eyes. It was so surreal that we were all leaving the country we had come to love so abruptly. We sang hymns in Portuguese and he said a prayer and blessing over us. President then looked into each of our eyes and told us how much he loved us. I'll never forget his eyes. It's like looking at the Savior himself.
We wheeled our suitcases onto the large tour bus and were bound for the airport.
Looking at the sun as it set over São Paulo, regardless of the pain, I felt so much peace & heard the Spirit confirm to me that I had served & finished my mission. It was time for me to go home.
We pulled into the airport with tens of other tour buses bringing in missionaries from other missions throughout Brazil. We were some of the first to get to the airport because our area was so close to the airport.
It was dark outside and young men and women in their suits and dresses hurried through security to make their flights back to the United States. I remember running through the airport by myself and thinking, if I can navigate the São Paulo airport with three suitcases & make my flight, I can do anything.
Home
I did make my flight. I had a 7 hour layover in Dallas and it felt like a dream as we exited the plane and walked onto U.S. ground. I wanted to say "Bom Dia!" to everyone I passed but I realized I was home. And everyone here was masked up and nervous to speak with someone who had returned from outside the country.
I had dreamed and thought about what my homecoming would look like years before I even began my mission. I had watched countless cousins walk down the escalator in the Salt Lake City airport and hug their parents and siblings. That what I had hoped my return would look like too.
It was nothing like I imagined. I still can't believe it all happened like it did! I went down the escalator with a couple of other missionaries and was welcomed home by a security guard. We were directed to the parking garage where our parents were waiting for us.
I can't explain the emotions I felt as I hugged my parents for the first time. I had been through a lot. A recent surgery. Unanswered questions. A pandemic on the rise. It felt so, so good to be in their arms and in my home. God strengthened me through it all but I felt like I could finally let down my guard & be home.
Within 24 hours of my arrival, I had friends serving in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, and other parts of the world fly into that same Salt Lake airport. The Church was bringing its missionaries home for a time.
Mom & Dad had brought my favorite Chick-fil-A to the airport too. :')
Pulling up to our driveway in Santaquin, I was welcomed by my siblings and some neighbors who had made signs & stood socially distanced in the road. It was so good to see my family. I LOVE THEM <3 I was supposed to quarantine for 14 days & not hug or touch anyone. I half quarantined & there were lots of hugs. It had been 10 months! It was such a weird reality to be living in but I was grateful to be home and safe with my family. 
Moving Forward
During all of this craziness, Mom had been trying to get in touch with any OB doctor who would see me. Doctor offices were not taking new patients and it was months out to get an appointment. Uncertainty was everywhere but I was certain that it would be okay.
My MTC companion, Lizzie Kaelberer's (aka one of my BEST friends) dad is an OB in Salt Lake City. He said he knew a Dr. Thorpe in Provo who could help me. After making some phone calls, Dr. Kaelberer got me an appointment with Dr. Thorpe. It was a miracle and the appointment was scheduled only two weeks out. Surely I could hold out until then.
A day or two later, Grandma and Grandpa Wagner were on their way to/from St. George. They stopped by and it was the first time I had seen them in almost a year. We were very cautious but the pandemic guidelines didn't stop Grandma from giving me a hug. :) 
During their visit I slipped away to my room and kneeled down. The pain was back in my side and I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure I could wait longer for my appointment with Dr. Thorpe. Mom and Dad came in beside me and I packed a bag to go to the ER.
Before we left, Grandpa Wagner & Dad gave me a priesthood blessing of comfort and healing. I know that the Priesthood is God's power on the earth today and I always feel that power during blessings.
The ER was the quickest way to a doctor, but even that took time with COVID restrictions. I was dropped off at an outdoor tent for testing. Since I had just returned from outside the country, people seemed a little wary of me.
I was admitted and they let Dad stay with me. My IV went in after many attempts (never go to the ER dehydrated haha) and we explained to the nurses I had a surgery in Brazil a couple of weeks prior removing an ovarian cyst and over two liters of fluid from my stomach - I had looked pregnant!
The conclusion was drawn that perhaps the pain was coming from an infection left from the previous surgery. It didn't make sense to me and I didn't have a fever, one of the sign of infection, but the doctors moved forward. A tube was inserted inside of me to remove the infection but only blood came out. I just wished I could have had my appointment with Dr. Thorpe sooner.
I then went in for an MRI and was admitted to my room. Dad couldn't come up to my room with me and we parted ways there. I was on my own with FaceTime & prayer to keep me comforted.
I remember looking out the window and seeing Mount Timpanogos covered in snow. It was a peaceful sight and I was grateful to be home.
After reading the MRI results, the on-call OB doctor came in and said everything looked okay. My pain couldn't be explained and I would be released in the morning. I was stuck again. I didn't know what to do. I felt bad we had come all the way to the ER if nothing was wrong.
In the middle of the night, a nurse came to change my IV and said, "Claire?" It was Liz Callahan, a friend from high school who had also done clogging with me while we were in elementary school.
We talked for a bit and it was a tender mercy to see a familiar face. I told her about my mission & COVID & how crazy everything was at the moment. I went to sleep feeling nervous because I didn't want to go home without answers.
Dr. Thorpe
I woke up the next morning to a knock at my door.
A man with long hair and a beard walked into my room. He introduced himself as the morning on-call doctor, Jeff Thorpe. He mentioned that I was supposed to be seeing him in two weeks and I know it was no coincidence that he was there that morning.
Dr. Thorpe had looked at my MRI and told me to get ready to have surgery in 30 minutes.
I didn't know what to think and I forgot that I was an independent adult who had ran through the Brazil airport with three suitcases a few days before. My response to him was, "Sounds good, I just need to ask my parents." Ha!
The surgery went well and afterwards, Mom and Dad were allowed to come up and see me for 10 minutes.
We discovered stage four Endometriosis during the surgery, something that wasn't found during my first surgery.
Endometriosis is where abnormal tissue grows outside of the uterus where it's not supposed to, causing pain. It's more common that I thought and over the last couple of years I've been able to connect and help others because of what I've gone through & what I'm experiencing now.
SO many miracles happened during this time. So many miracles are happening now. I get to see Dr. Thorpe a few times this month as we get ready for another procedure. I know God is so aware of us. Most times we plan our lives to go from Point A to Point B in a straight line.
We're here on earth to come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ. Straight lines don't exactly shape us how He needs us to be refined. My points have been all over the place over these last years in many different areas of life but I've changed & as hard as it is, I'm grateful to know Jesus Christ better.
So there are some miracles I always want to remember. Faith in God includes having faith in His timing. He know's what's best for us and as long as we stay close to Him, He will always be close to us. 